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April 30, 2013

I've recently discovered a new-to-me hair care brand, Philip Kingsley. I wanted to try out some of his products, as he has been recognized as the leading authority on hair and scalp health. In this post I'll share with you his Preen Cream, which is basically a great product to use on fine or medium hair types to reduce frizz, reduce static and give hair softness & shine. Check out my full review and all the info about the product after the pics!

Developed to stimulate the effects of duck preening, which leaves each feather smooth and shiny yet protected, Preen Cream smoothes, shines and reduces the appearance of dry ends. Best for fine and medium hair types. Lightweight emulsion with a combination of moisturizers, shine serums, UV protection and antioxidants that protect and condition. Leaves hair shiny, reducing static and frizz.

Contains Babassu Oil - which is very light weight, yet moisturizing, Cetearyl Ethylhexanoate - that provides 'feather' like softness, Vitamin E to protect and as an antioxidant, and Emulsified Silicone for shine, condition and manageability.

Use before and/or after styling by rubbing a few drops between your palms and apply to mid-lengths and ends of your hair. Add more as needed.

I'm not really sure why the directions say to add a few drops between your palms, because this is a cream and not an oil where drops would apply - but I guess it does kind of come out in drop-like squirts. Regardless, this is a really nice product that I've been loving to use!

I use this when my hair is damp and my hair comes out really soft, smooth and shiny with hardly any frizz. I have very fine, long hair and this didn't weight it down. It was very lightweight. I couldn't stop touching my hair because it felt so soft and healthy!

The smell isn't too over whelming, but it does have a scent to it. It goes away quickly and really isn't any stronger than other hair products I have - but I do have another Philip Kingsley product which has practically no scent at all. I'm sensitive to smells so at first this smell slightly bothered me, but then again I had it right up to my nose. With normal use this smell doesn't bother me at all.

You can use this when your hair is dry too, which I have done and it works great at eliminating frizz that way as well. But I prefer to use it when my hair is damp, kind of as a last step before I blow dry.

For sure this is a hair product I really have been enjoying to use and one I would recommend - especially to all my fine hair gals!

Now let me know what you think...

What do you think of this hair product? Have you tried this or is this on your wish list? Discuss in the comments below.

April 29, 2013

I've been really loving extensions lately; not so much to add length but to add volume or to easily style my hair. Most recently I tried the Hairdo by HairUWear 20" Wavy Extension. My goal was to use this when I curl my hair and want more volume and have it look just beautiful. And guess what? It does look beautiful! I have it in the shade Chocolate Copper, which works well for me, but there are other shades available - 11 in total - and each shade is made up of 7 to 11 different shades for the most natural look that blends with your actual hair color. Check out my full review and all the info below after all the pics!

Multi-level, 20" wavy one piece clip-in extension that creates easy, fashionable style without the hassle of working with several individual pieces. Short hair transform into luxurious below the shoulder length hair. Long hair becomes thick and full. Clip-in for length and volume. Available in 11 salon inspired colors.

This is a styleable piece with Tru2Life Heat-Friendly Synthetic Hair. You can flat iron, curl, and blow it out!

I got this because I have really fine, thin hair, and I love to curl my hair but I want extra volume sometimes. This clip-in is perfect for that; it's so easy to use and you really can't tell that it's not my hair. For the before & after pics I left my hair straight, and that was dirty second-day hair, just to show the volume you can get. Of course as you can imagine it looks really great when I do curl my hair and blends in seamlessly. Also styles nicely too - but I put it in for the pics straight from the package.

Easy to put in, even though there are a lot of clips. You do need to line it up because if you clip the top part in too low the bottom won't clip in properly and it will look weird - so just line it up and clip it up high enough so it all fits beautifully.

I'm someone who doesn't wear extensions often, so for me this felt heavy at first but I got used to it as I wore it. The color I have, Chocolate Copper, works really well for me. It's what I have in my other Hairdo by HairUWear piece - the 18" Beach Curl Pony.

I really love the Hairdo by HairUWear line and would recommend it! Go to Ulta to see the shades in person if you can, so you can get your perfect shade match!

Now let me know what you think...

What do you think of this hair extension piece? Have you tried this or is this on your wish list? Discuss in the comments below.

April 28, 2013

I love It Cosmetics makeup brushes; they're soft, but dense enough to actually use and they apply your makeup beautifully. They're also all cruelty-free, which I know is really important to a lot of you. In this post I'll talk about their Dual Airbrush Foundation/Concealer Brush. This duo-ended brush has a larger side for applying your foundation and a smaller side for applying your concealer. It's, of course, that great It Cosmetics quality with that epic softness and fullness. Check out my full review and all the info below after the pics!

It CosmeticsDual Airbrush Foundation/Concealer Brush

It Cosmetics Dual Airbrush Foundation/Concealer Brush Info & Review:

Cost/Availability: $48.00. Available on the It Cosmetics website, at QVC(sold in a brush kit - which is the best value), at Beauty.com, and everywhere else It Cosmetics are sold.

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Kisses!

The It Cosmetics Dual Airbrush Foundation/Concealer Brush was designed with leading plastic surgeons to apply both foundation and concealer to a flawless, airbrushed finish!

The ultra-plush, ultra-luxe large end allows you to quickly apply your foundation to larger areas, while the micro-end allows for the most accurate precision in even the smallest spaces. This 100% cruelty-free high-quality brush is extremely soft and great for even the most sensitive skin.

I really love It Cosmetics brushes; they're soft but dense enough to actually use and apply your makeup beautifully. Every single It Cosmetics brush I've gotten has been a winner, and the Dual Airbrush Foundation/Concealer Brush is yet again another winner!

Love this for exactly as it's intended: for foundation and for concealer. Applies it beautifully and feels great on the skin. They also clean really easily and go back to their original condition beautifully. One thing I never notice is shedding, which is great because some brushes can have that new-brush-shedding that happens and then some brushes even continue to shed. This brush, and all the It Cosmetics brushes I have, don't shed. They truly are great quality brushes that are a smart investment, as they will last you many, many years if not a lifetime.

The cost of this brush is steep at $48 but you have to consider the fact that it's not really just one brush - it's two brushes. You're getting a foundation brush and a concealer brush, all in one -- and you could even use this duo-ended brush for other products too - such as using the larger end for powders (think blushes, bronzer) and the smaller end for eyeshadows. You could save money by going through QVC and ordering the brush kit, which is just a dollar more than this cost of this one brush and you get three brushes (although two of the three brushes are duo-ended so really it's like you're getting 5 brushes).

Makeup brushes do come in a range of price points but we all know that sometimes what you pay for is what you get. My cheap e.l.f. studio brushes may be affordable, but they always break on me -- especially the studio powder brush, which is what I use to apply liquid foundations (it's basically a flat top kabuki). Sure, it's just $3 but I've had to replace so many. I'd say right now I have about 8 of them, and I've thrown out at least 3 - so that's about $33 on that one type of brush (although I did get some half off). Regardless, my point is replacing brushes adds up over time, when you could have just invested that money once and gotten yourself a brush that lasts you. Sort of like when you're looking for a partner... you may find mr. right now but who is mr. forever? You want a mr. forever brush, not a mr. right now brush that breaks, haha.

I really like the It Cosmetics makeup brushes and would definitely recommend them!

Now let me know what you think...

What do you think of this makeup brush? Have you tried this or is this on your wish list? Discuss in the comments below.

April 27, 2013

Jordana has recently come out with a new line of lip balms, their Sweet n' Smooth Nourishing Lip Balm. At just $1.49 each they're super affordable, but are they good? Read my full review below. I have all 8 shades, with my favorite being Succulent Cherry for the color and Fruit Punch for the scent/flavor.

Check out my pics, swatches, info, and review... click on pics to view them larger.

Okay, I had really high hopes for these because they reminded me of the Maybelline Baby Lips, but more affordable, and I really liked the Jordana Easyshine Glossy Lipcolor so I thought these would be even better. Maybe I was just over hyped and excited for these, but these were just average to me -- maybe even slightly below average. There are some good points and some bad points about these. I'll explain....

I do feel like they went on smooth and felt comfortable on my lips - they're non-sticky - but I don't feel like these really went into my lips, to penetrate them, to truly moisturize and nourish. They just kind of sat on top; or maybe my lips are just super dry or something but I didn't feel these were all that nourishing to me.

The color selection is nice, although I didn't really care for the pink shades which is a shock for me as I'm a pink kind of gal. I think the pinks are too cool toned and I prefer warm toned pinks, which is why I like Succulent Cherry - which reads more warm pink on me. Some of the shades stained my hand when I swatched them, and slightly on my lips - which are the first 4 shades shown in the photos.

I didn't really care for all the scents/flavors; they were slightly off - not really smelling like what they say they are, and not tasting like that either. I like Fruit Punch the most for scent/flavor. I just wish it had some color to it but it's practically clear.

I think that thing that is the worst about these is the packaging. Don't get me wrong, the colors are cute and I like that - but it's the twisting up mechanism that completely fails. It doesn't want to twist up and keep the product up. You have to hold it there when you apply or it will go right back down. For the pictures I had to squeeze them and not shake the table, and then photograph them quick or the balm stick would fall back down. I found it really annoying. Sure, they're only $1.49 each but I still expect things to work well. Maybe there was just a bad batch that went through and you may get lucky and have one that works great - but all eight of these had the same packaging fail. However, I don't want you to think these are completely un-usable. The packaging fail is annoying, but it's certainly something you can work around.

Overall, I think these are okay and may work for some, but if you have really dry lips I don't think I'd recommend these to nourish/hydrate. I think these work better as strictly a lip tint, to be used over top a lip balm that hydrates your lips - which is what I plan to do with these. Still, at just $1.49 each I think they're work giving a try and see if they will work for you!

Now let me know what you think...

What do you think of these lip balms? What shade/flavor do you like best? Have you tried them or are they on your wish list? Discuss in the comments below.